Welcome to Loud & ClearSTL, the renamed and renewed blog for the Center for Hearing & Speech. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit agency that provides top quality speech and audiology services for individuals of all ages, regardless of one’s ability to pay. The blog is a tool we’re using to tell you who we are, what we do and how we do it. If you have a question, comment or concern about anything we post, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Wells Fargo Advisors Gives Program Donates $2,500 to Center’s School Screening Program

Wells Fargo Advisors Gives Program has awarded the Center $2,500
to support the Center’s School Screening Program. This year’s funding will
provide hearing and vision screenings for local children living in low-income
households.

“This gift will go far
to help children in the St. Louis public schools who are in need of hearing or
vision evaluations to detect unseen disabilities,” said Jeff Tarr, Center
development director. “Having the support of companies like Wells Fargo
Advisors is extremely important for Center outreach operations that help
children who could ‘slip through the cracks’ with their problems if it wasn’t
for this kind of assistance. We’re thrilled to have Wells Fargo Advisors
support!”

Often described as "invisible disabilities" because
they cause problems that are not easily detected, hearing and vision deficits
can be devastating to a child's development and school success. These hearing
and vision screenings identify problems that are among the most treatable
health issues affecting young children. The Center’s School Screening Program
offers hearing, tympanometryand vision screenings for children in area elementary schools,
daycares and Head Start programs. Targeting children attending schools in some
of the most impoverished neighborhoods of St. Louis, the Program provides helpful
feedback and referral information to the children’s parents and guardians.

Hearing screenings are performed with portable audiometers and
headsets. A child hears a series of beeps to which he/she responds by raising a
hand. Tympanometry is performed to detect middle ear problems such as ear
infections or fluid behind the eardrum.

The Center provides follow up information, referral resources
and a caring and competent staff to inform parents and guardians about their
child’s health needs. The families of children who do not pass a screening
receive referral information and details about the importance of follow-up care
as well as a phone call from the Center’s staff to answer any questions. If
hearing loss and/or vision problems are detected, parents have the opportunity
to act early and receive treatment to address the problem and prevent a
potentially long-term, negative impact upon the child’s development.

The School Screening Program has been very successful, steadily
growing since its inception in 1969. The Center continues to seek new ways to
cost-effectively partner with other organizations and increase the number of
children screened. In 2014, the Center screened 14,156 children, 81 percent of
which were free. To date, the Center has been able to provide free screenings
to every child who qualifies because of funding support from organizations like
Wells Fargo Advisors Gives Program.

If you are interested in having the School Screening Program
come to your school, call the Center at 314-968-4710 for more information.
Screenings cost $7 per child, and financial assistance is available for a
limited number of schools each year.

The Center for Hearing & Speech is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit
organization that donates $1.75 million in speech-language, school screening
and audiology services to residents of metropolitan St. Louis and surrounding
communities.It is a proud
member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis and was awarded the Better
Business Bureau’s (BBB) 2014 TORCH Award.The award is given to charities and businesses that “demonstrate
a commitment to customer service through exceptional standards for ethical
business practices,” according to the BBB.